GOP Mean Machine Kills College for 7 Million Kids.

Mean to students, bad for America’s Future

Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a bill aimed at extending low interest rates for student loans, signaling the possibility of a protracted congressional battle over a measure lawmakers in both parties agree should ultimately be passed.

In a 52-45 vote, Republican Senators blocked further work on the “Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012,” a Democrat-sponsored bill that would extend low interest rates on federally subsidized student loans for another year. Barring an extension, the rate on new loans for undergraduates would increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent this July. Sixty votes were needed to advance to debate.

The White House called the bill’s failure “extremely disappointing” in a statement following the vote.

“It is extremely disappointing that Republicans in the Senate today voted to ask millions of students to pay an average of $1,000 each in order to protect a loophole that allows millionaires to dodge payroll taxes,” the statement said.